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Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2012-4659

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-10-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The AAA functionality in the IPv4 SSL VPN implementations on Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances (ASA) 5500 series devices, and the ASA Services Module (ASASM) in Cisco Catalyst 6500 series devices, with software 8.2 before 8.2(5.30) and 8.3 before 8.3(2.34) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) via a crafted authentication response, aka Bug ID CSCtz04566.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Denial of service vulnerability in Cisco ASA 5500 series and ASA Services Module devices affecting AAA functionality in IPv4 SSL VPN implementations. Remote attackers can cause device reload by sending a crafted authentication response to the VPN authentication system.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco ASA software to version 8.2(5.30) or 8.3(2.34) or later to patch the vulnerability. Alternatively, implement network-level access controls to limit SSL VPN authentication exposure to trusted sources.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Adaptive Security Appliance SoftwareOperating system
Affected:= 8.2= 8.2\(1\)= 8.2\(2\)= 8.2\(3\)= 8.2\(3.9\)= 8.2\(4\)= 8.2\(4.1\)= 8.2\(4.4\)= 8.2\(5\)= 8.3\(1\)= 8.3\(2\)
5500 Series Adaptive Security ApplianceHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6500Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6503 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6504 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6506 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6509 EHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Catalyst 6509 Neb AHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the device model
    Use the 'show version' command or check 'show inventory' output to determine if the device is a Cisco ASA 5500 series appliance, ASA Services Module, or a Catalyst 6500 series switch running ASA services
    Affected if The device is not an ASA 5500 series, ASA Services Module, or Catalyst 6500 with ASA services module - the CVE does not apply
  2. Check the ASA software version
    Execute 'show version' and locate the 'Software Version' line. Compare the installed version against the affected list: 8.2, 8.2(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(3), 8.2(3.9), 8.2(4), 8.2(4.1), 8.2(4.4), 8.2(5), 8.3(1), 8.3(2). Note that Catalyst 6500 devices are affected in all versions if running ASA services module.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the listed affected versions or is an unpatched version on Catalyst 6500 ASA modules
  3. Verify SSL VPN (webvpn) is enabled
    Run 'show run webvpn' or 'show run | include webvpn' to check if WebVPN/SSL VPN configuration exists on the device
    Affected if No SSL VPN configuration exists - the vulnerability cannot be triggered as it requires active VPN authentication
  4. Confirm AAA is configured for VPN authentication
    Run 'show run | include aaa' and check for authentication server groups bound to VPN (look for 'aaa-server' entries and their association with tunnel-group or webvpn configuration)
    Affected if AAA authentication is not configured for VPN - the crafted authentication response vector does not exist

The device is affected if it is a Cisco ASA 5500 series or ASA Services Module (or Catalyst 6500 with ASA module) running an affected software version AND has SSL VPN with AAA authentication enabled, allowing remote attackers to send crafted authentication responses that cause device reload.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Cisco ASA software to version 8.2(5.30) or 8.3(2.34) or later to patch the vulnerability. Alternatively, implement network-level access controls to limit SSL VPN authentication exposure to trusted sources.

Fix this in Adaptive Security Appliance Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,300
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-4659 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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